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★ Kentucky · head & brain

Head & brain settlements
in Kentucky.

By Reviewed by Abd Shanti, Founder9 min read

Because the Kentucky Constitution forbids damages caps, a brain injury verdict here reflects the jury’s view of the harm without a statutory ceiling. The fights are over fault among several defendants and over proof of future costs.

Facts that decide a head & brain claim in Kentucky

Damages capsNone. Section 54 of the Kentucky Constitution bars limits on recovery for injury to person or property.Ky. Const. § 54
Several defendantsThe jury assigns a percentage of fault to each party, including third party defendants and anyone released by settlement, and each pays its equitable share.KRS 411.182(1)-(3)
Future medical costsReasonably probable future costs, such as lifelong anti-seizure medication, can be awarded when supported by the evidence.Boland-Maloney Lumber Co. v. Burnett (Ky. App. 2009)
Deadline to sueOne year from the injury for most claims; two years after the injury or last PIP payment for crashes.KRS 413.140(1)(a); KRS 304.39-230(6)
Partly at faultPure comparative fault applies, so a brain injured plaintiff partly at fault still recovers the remaining share.KRS 411.182
united states · sister site
Your head & brain claim in Kentucky. See the number for your own case.

FairSettlement gives you a free estimate for your own head & brain case in about two minutes, no cost and no obligation.

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★ KY · reported head & brain outcomes

What Kentucky courts have awarded.

Real Kentucky decisions and verdicts, each linked to the court record or official report.

  • Boland-Maloney Lumber Co. v. Burnett
    Kentucky Court of Appeals · 2009
    $2,268,878.20 verdict, fault split 80%, 15% and 5%

    A man stepped into what felt like a hole on a stairway, fell into a handrail that gave way, and dropped about ten feet face first onto concrete. He suffered facial fractures, a brain injury causing a seizure disorder, and permanent double vision. The verdict was affirmed, except that the claim for future anti-seizure medication, about $8,392 a year, was sent back for a new trial because the trial court had wrongly excluded it.

  • CSX Transportation v. Moody
    Kentucky Supreme Court · 2010
    $2,740,000 verdict affirmed

    A railroad worker developed a permanent brain injury, toxic encephalopathy, from years of exposure to solvents at work. Suing under the federal railroad workers’ statute, he won $200,000 for future medical costs, $540,000 for future lost wages, and $2,000,000 for past and future pain. The Supreme Court held the award was not excessive.

★ KY · head & brain · in practice

What changes the number here.

What actually moves a head & brain settlement in Kentucky.

  1. 1

    Kentucky brain injury verdicts are not trimmed by a cap, so the evidence of how life has changed carries the case. In Boland-Maloney the jury heard about a seizure disorder, double vision, and the loss of a career path, and returned more than $2.2 million.

  2. 2

    Multiple defendants are common in fall and construction injuries, and Kentucky apportions fault among all of them, including anyone who settled. In Boland-Maloney the jury put 80% on the lumber company and split the rest.

  3. 3

    Future care must be proven, not assumed. The trial court in Boland-Maloney refused to let the jury consider lifelong seizure medication, and the Court of Appeals sent that one item back for a new trial because the medical testimony supported it.

★ KY · statute of limitations
1 year for personal injury (one of the shortest in the US)

Ky. Rev. Stat. § 413.140

★ KY · fault rule
Pure comparative negligence

Pure comparative negligence, recovery available at any fault percentage.

★ head & brain · same region & fault regime

Compare to like jurisdictions.

How Kentucky's fault rule and limitation period compare to jurisdictions in the same US region and to those running the same fault rule for head & brain claims.

JurisdictionFault ruleLimitationHead & brain page
Kentucky · you are herePure comparative negligence1 year for personal injury (one of the shortest in the US)—
LouisianaModified comparative, 51% bar1 year (la prescription), extended to 2 years by Act 423 (2024) for tort claims accruing on or after July 1, 2024LA · head & brain →
MississippiPure comparative negligence3 years from date of injuryMS · head & brain →
North CarolinaPure contributory negligence3 years from date of injuryNC · head & brain →
South CarolinaModified comparative, 51% bar3 years from date of injurySC · head & brain →
TennesseeModified comparative, 50% bar1 year from date of injury, among the shortest in the USTN · head & brain →
TexasModified comparative, 51% bar2 years from date of injuryTX · head & brain →
MissouriPure comparative negligence5 years for personal injury; 2 years for medical malpracticeMO · head & brain →
New MexicoPure comparative negligence3 years from date of injuryNM · head & brain →
New YorkPure comparative negligence3 years for personal injury; 2 years 6 months for medical malpracticeNY · head & brain →
Rhode IslandPure comparative negligence3 years from date of injuryRI · head & brain →
MaineModified comparative, 50% bar6 years for personal injury, longest in the USME · head & brain →
MarylandPure contributory negligence3 years from date of injuryMD · head & brain →
★ KY · head & brain · frequently asked

Common questions.

Each answer is independently coherent and references the relevant statute or authority document.

united states · sister site
Hurt in a car crash in Kentucky? See what your own claim could be worth.

FairSettlement, our US sister site, gives you a free estimate in about two minutes. No cost and no obligation.

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Sources

Checked 2026-09-28.

★ all of KY
Kentucky overview

Fault rule, statute, caps, and key facts for Kentucky as a whole.

★ national frame
Head & brain in United States

Head & brain band structure and severity tiers at the US level.

★ all 15 countries
Head & brain · everywhere

Cross-jurisdiction comparison of head & brain bands.

★ editorial note

Figures on this page are not quotes for any specific case. For representation, consult an attorney admitted in Kentucky. See /methodology, /sources, and /disclaimer.